The Minnesota Twins traded infielder Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Pablo Lopez is the main return for the Twins, but prospect Jose Salas is also going to Minnesota.
The deal fills a need for both sides: the Marlins needed some offense, and the Twins were looking for an impact pitcher.
Seeing Minnesota deal Arraez is a bit surprising, mainly because he just won the American League batting crown.
However, they felt they should cash in on what it could be a career season from him.
It’s not the first time a batting champion is traded, but it is extremely rare.
“Luis Arraez would be the first batting title winner to be traded the offseason following since Rod Carew, from the Twins to the Angels after winning it in 1978. BASEBALL,” MLB stats enthusiast Sarah Langs tweeted.
Luis Arraez would be the first batting title winner to be traded the offseason following since Rod Carew, from the Twins to the Angels after winning it in 1978
BASEBALL
h/t @EliasSports
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) January 20, 2023
Arraez is the only reason New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge didn’t win the American League hitting Triple Crown.
His .316 batting average had no rivals.
However, it’s important to point out that Arraez is not particularly powerful (he hit eight home runs in 2022 and has only 14 in parts of four seasons) nor speedy, with eight career steals.
He does have a solid batting eye that gave him a .375 OBP, and also hit 31 doubles so he is not a zero in the power department.
He has an odd offensive profile, but the Marlins can use all the offense they can get.
In this case, getting Arraez is helpful, even if they have enough middle infielders.
The other good thing about Arraez is that he is very versatile: he can play all around the infield.
In Miami, he will likely occupy one of the corner infield positions.
All things considered, this is a transaction that has the potential to help both teams for at least two seasons.
NEXT: The Marlins Now Have A Stacked Infield